No matter what time of year it is, if our dogs are outside, they’re sniffing things, eating things, and all-around being curious about Mother Nature. While summer is coming to a close, you should still be just as vigilant about keeping an eye on them because your pup, along with chasing squirrels, could also get themselves into a little trouble with a small, stinging threat: bees and wasps.
Say your furry friend is sniffing around the garden…
What that really means is that he could be (unknowingly) irritating a bee or wasp.
When a bee or wasp stings, there is a little bit of poisonous venom released.
A bee’s stinger is barbed, and will tear apart from the body, killing the bee and preventing it from stinging more than once. A wasp, on the other hand, doesn’t have a barbed stinger, so your pup’s at more risk. Be careful not to lead her close to a nest!
If your dog IS stung…
First, remove the stinger if there is one. Try to scrape it away with a fingernail or cardboard. Squeezing it with tweezers might squirt more of the venom out.
Then, apply a weak mixture of water and baking soda onto the area to help with the pain.
To keep the swelling down, you can also wrap an ice pack in a towel and hold it to the sting.
If your pooch is stung in the throat or inside of the mouth, you should call your vet.
Swelling in those areas is dangerous for obvious reasons — breathing being one of them.
Another reason to call the vet is if the swelling doesn’t go down within a few days.
You’ll also want to keep a close eye on your fur baby for the hours following the incident to make sure an allergic reaction doesn’t occur. If your pup is stung multiple times or is showing weakness or difficulty breathing, those are signs of a severe reaction and you should go to vet immediately.
If you follow these steps, your pup will soon be as good as new!
And hopefully, they’ll learn to leave the tiny buzzy flying things alone. Now get out there with your pooch and enjoy the rest of the summer (safely)!
